Schemes and Malice II — Ambrosya

As my eyes were strained, I stepped away from the balcony and exited the area where Omniscient Overseer could be used.

When five seconds passed, the tower of Vianthia was able to sense the absence of a user. Omniscient Overseer was thus shut off. The empty room returned to normal as the distorted space views dissipated into nothingness.

I recalled what I had just seen.

Lily probably saw me as an obstacle she had to overcome, and Virion was being harassed as per my story.

There wasn't much I could surmise from these facts, unfortunately, but it was nice to know. Next time, I planned on spying on someone more influential, like High Professor Deuzetai.

For now, though, I had to teleport to a place far from the tower. I needed an alibi for the investigation that was going to be held soon. Aimee and her group would assert that they had followed me into Liefanissus' sacred grounds.

I had to prove that fact otherwise.

I checked the special device I had in my pocket. I still had the gadgets that King had lent me, and with them, I had been erasing the traces of my existence. Now, I had to turn it off so that people could track me and discover that I was nowhere near Vianthia.

Click—!

I pressed a few buttons and flicked a few switches. The hum of mana disappeared from my ears.

I nodded to myself before opening my lips to make another prayer.

"Oh key to life, you are the essence of nature, its origin, and its fuel. I seek transportation. Place me far from you yet still within your grasp."

I once again fell to my knees and bowed with grace and nearly-perfect etiquette.

"Release me from your embrace so that I may return stronger and greater."

I then vanished in a flash of light.

...

I reappeared between two towering shelves that were rather familiar to me.

"...Nature's Archives?" I muttered as I touched one of the books. "What a mystical artefact..."

I couldn't help but marvel at the engineering and programming genius that was Vianthia. Now that I was learning enchantment, spell creation, and other magic-related skills, I could truly appreciate what I once glanced over using flowery words.

My writing had truly come alive, and it was majestic beyond imagination.

This feeling was something I would never get sick of. As if all this was a dream, it was all so... surreal.

I blinked.

What was my wish again?

[ "Let me enter my novel." ]

In a changed Earth, that wish was extremely dangerous. So many things could have gone wrong, but it seemed like I had struck a double-edged jackpot. I was in a world where immortality was within reach. It was difficult to reach, yes, but possible nonetheless.

It was just that... I couldn't help but wonder what happened to my original body. If my spirit was here, what was my body doing?

I swiftly shook my head. Enough of such thoughts.

Let's go back to the topic at hand.

So yes, teleportation spells and other spatial spells were all S rank. Even the simplest one, Blink, sat at the threshold between A and S. The complexity and resources needed to manipulate space were immense.

Only the gods were known to be able to appear anywhere they wished.

Thus, no one would ever consider that I had teleported. I was simply here the entire time, and the person that Aimee and company had been chasing was simply a figment of their imagination.

A lie so that they could cause trouble.

The smell of ancient scrolls and old paper filled my nose as I browsed the titles in front of me. I wanted to flood the area with my presence so that it wouldn't be super obvious that I had appeared out of thin air.

I knew of all the spells that could be used to figure out the truth, so it was a given that I was doing my best to counter them all.

Even if they did discover something, by then, I would already be wielding power that could slay even the gods.

That was how fast I wanted to climb the ranks.

...

After looking through a dozen or so books and about a hundred titles, I decided that it was time to leave. Although Applied Mana Manipulation was more practical and less theoretical, I wanted to practice the lessons beforehand.

I had to show that I was a worthy Rank 1.

"Mmh," I groaned, "Keeping up one's image is taxing..."

The fact that I gave the nobles the superhuman ability to withstand all that social interaction was a choice that broke the balance of the world.

I didn't create enough introverted nobles. Instead, I created a damn cruel society that bullied the weak and vulnerable.

It was a mystery how they were even functioning based on such a mentality. I would love to study those details eventually.

After saying goodbye to the confused librarian, I left Nature's Archives. I returned to my dorm room and began training.

Mana Manipulation was basically the rawest control over energy. It was the null element of magic. The purest form of martial arts.

Applying it meant using it in combat as a very crude form of Telekinesis or a pure and simplistic augmentation of the human body. It was very much akin to Lily Ilventire's Mana Swordsmanship.

Pure mana. That was it.

I opened the book I was given and studied the diagrams and concepts recorded on its pages. And while I was studying, I multitasked.

I was crafting a plan in my head.

In three days, there was a high likelihood that a secret would make itself available to me. With the weekend free, I had time to take it for myself. I just needed to enchant my body a little further.

I did not need combat power but utility-based abilities. Saturday's mission was going to be a long stealth mission.